Monday night’s NFL San Diego Chargers-Chicago Bears game (Nov. 9) at Qualcomm Stadium will serve as a homecoming for Castle Park High School and Southwestern College alumnus John Fox, currently the head coach of the Bears.
The game will be nationally telecast as part of ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” package.
The match-up features teams that both have struggled through the first half of the 2015 season. The Bears are 2-5 while the Chargers are 2-6. The loser of Monday’s game likely drops out of the playoff race.
But win or lose, Fox remains a favorite among the Trojan Nation. Current Castle Park football head coach Hans Graham said the Trojan coaching staff will prepare another “care package” for Fox during his visit this year.
“We’ll have something for him again,” said Graham, who is buys helping prepare his team for its opening round game in the San Diego Section playoffs against the visiting Monte Vista Monarchs on Friday, Nov. 13.
This is the third NFL head coaching assignment for Fox, who previously led both the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos to Super Bowl appearances.
Fox made four homecoming visits during his tenure with the Broncos. He has a NFL coaching record of 121-94 in 14 seasons and is 8-7 in playoff games.
Chicago update
The Bears are mired in a two-game losing streak after winning two in a row. Chicago is coming off a disappointing 23-20 loss to the NFC North rival Minnesota Vikings on Nov. 1 in which they led, 20-13, in the fourth quarter.
Team leaders include quarterback Jay Cutler, who has thrown for 1,442 yards and eight touchdowns this season (with four interceptions) for an 87.5 quarterback rating, and running back Matt Forte, who has rushed for 548 yards and two touchdowns (with a 4.0 yards per attempt average).
In last Sunday’s game, Cutler completed 22 of 33 passing attempts for 211 yards with one touchdown. He also scored his team’s lone rushing touchdown of the game.
The Bears finished with 97 rushing yards to the Vikings’ 147 rushing yards and were out-gained 327-305 in total net offensive yards.
Jeremy Langford (12 carries, 46 yards) and Forte (10 carries, 41 yards) led the Chicago running game. However, Forte injured his knee in the game and has been ruled out of Monday’s game. Langford, who has just 80 yards rushing on the season, will take over for Forte against the Chargers.
Alshon Jeffery had 10 catches for 116 yards to serve as the bright spot among the Bears’ receivers. He has 23 catches for 341 yards and two TDs this season.
Chicago place-kicker Robbie Gould made two of three field goal attempts in the game against Minnesota. His miss proved costly.
The Vikings came away with the win on a 36-yard field goal by Blair Walsh as time expired to present Minnesota with its first win in Chicago since 2007.
Marcus Sherels scored on a 65-yard punt return to boost the visitors in the special teams department.
Minnesota quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, who struggled for most of the game, threw for 187 yards with one touchdown and one interception, while Adrian Peterson rushed for 103 yards on 20 carries.
The Bears dropped their opening three games of the season before posting wins over the Oakland Raiders (22-20) and Kansas City Chiefs (18-17). But a 37-24 overtime loss in Detroit on Oct. 18 spoiled further success for Chicago.
Fox is obviously disappointed by his team’s latest two losses, both to divisional opponents.
“That’s the NFL – guys fought, they competed,” Fox explained in the Bears-Vikings post-game press conference. “We were in the game, much like the last four weeks. We won two games. We didn’t finish the last two weeks, and we lose. Down the stretch, you’ve got to coach ’em better and make plays when they’re there to be had.
“We worked really hard to win, we put (in) a lot of time and effort. It doesn’t matter if you lose by three or 33, it counts the same.”
Fox said the team’s goal is to get better. “We didn’t change after 0-3; we’re not going to change at 2-5,” he noted. “It’s a competitive game and we’ll keep competing and working to get better and doing everything in our power to get us better.”
“In these tight games, you got a find a way to win,” Cutler said. “We need to find ways in fourth quarters to pull out games. We’re not far away.”
Chargers update
The Bears will be facing a Chargers team riding a four-game losing streak. The Bolts dropped to 2-6 on the season following last Sunday’s last-second 29-26 AFC non-divisional loss to the host Baltimore Ravens.
The Chargers, like the Bears, really cannot afford another loss if they are to remain in the playoff hunt, at least for a wild-card berth.
Following the disappointing loss to the Ravens, who entered the game sporting a 1-6 record, San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers said that if only the outcome of three plays had turned out in favor of the team over the first half of the season, with everything else being the same, that the Chargers’ record would be vastly different than it is.
But the reality is that the Chargers are 2-6 and the inability to execute on key plays has been the reason for their fall into the AFC West cellar.
“Obviously a tough loss,” stated San Diego head coach Mike McCoy in the post-game press conference. “Unfortunately, we didn’t make enough plays at a critical time to get over that hump within one time where you can pull away or separate to get to two scores or a big stop somewhere in there. I give our players a ton of credit for the effort.
“The way certain players stepped up for four quarters with a number of guys going down throughout the game. I had a number of guys that came up and made plays for us and that’s what it’s about. I wouldn’t expect anything less from the players either; a tough one to take.
Rivers threw for 301 yards and three touchdowns in the game, yet it wasn’t enough to lead his team to a victory.
Malcom Floyd caught four passes for 92 yards and two scores while Keenan Allen had five catches for 35 yards and one TD. The Chargers lost Allen for likely the duration of the season due to a bruised kidney injury.
The long list of injuries continues for San Diego.
The Chargers led, 16-13, at halftime but were outscored 16-10 in the second half. San Diego finished the game with two field goals by rookie Josh Lambo (who has made 15 field goals on the season). The inability to convert field goals into touchdowns has gone a long way to defining the team’s disappointing start.
Melvin Gordon rushed 18 times for 54 yards as the visitors accumulated 81 yards on the ground without a touchdown (which has also become a familiar storyline as the season unfolds).
Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco passed for 319 yards and one touchdown and also ran for a score. However, the hero of the day for the Ravens had to be Justin Tucker, who kicked five field goals in the game, the longest from 48 yards, and tacked on two PAT conversions to finish the game with 17 kicking points.
His field goal from 39 yards out on the final play of the game proved to be the game-winner.
Baltimore, like the Chargers, are facing early elimination from the wild-card playoff hunt.
“Courage takes faith, and faith takes courage,” Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said in his post-game press conference. “I thought our guys displayed that, and they have throughout the course of the whole season.”
“We had an opportunity to do it and we didn’t get it done,” McCoy explained. “Give them credit, they’re in a very similar position as us and it’s another one of those games that comes to the bitter end. That’s what you talk about in this league, the parody and the competition is so good and the balance of teams. Give both teams credit for fighting their tails off until the bitter end and they made one more play in the end then we did. So they won the football game and we didn’t.”
Rivers remains one of the NFL’s top passers this season with 2,753 yards, 18 touchdowns, seven interceptions and a 102.1 quarterback rating.
Kansas City Chiefs 45, Detroit Lions 10
Kansas City quarterback Alex Smith (Bonita Vista Middle School) completed 18 of 26 passing attempts for 145 yards and two touchdowns as the Chiefs defeated the Detroit Lions in London’s famed Wembley Stadium as part of the NFL’s International Series. Smith also rushed five times for 78 yards and one touchdown and was sacked three times to post a quarterback rating of 108.7 in the non-conference game.
Kansas City improved to 3-5 on the season while Detroit dropped to 1-7.
The Chiefs out-rushed the Lions 206-81 in yards and out-gained them 340-276 in total yards.
Travis Kelce (six catches, 49 yards) and Jeremy Maclin (three catches, 35 yards) each caught scoring passes from Smith. Kansas City tacked on four rushing touchdowns – one each by Charcandrick West (20 carries, 97 yards), Spencer Ware (two carries, 12 yards), De-Anthony Thomas (one carry, 10 yards) and Smith.
Lions QB Matthew Stafford completed 22 of 36 passing attempts for 217 yards and one touchdown but was intercepted twice and sacked six times for a 67.4 quarterback rating. Joique Bell led Detroit on the ground with seven carries for 56 yards while Calvin Johnson had eight catches for 85 yards. Lance Moore (three catches, 29 yards) had the Lions’ lone TD reception.
Ron Parker led the Chiefs with two sacks while Sean Smith and Justin Houston each recorded picks.
Each team kicked a field goal in the game: Cairo Santos hit from 33 yards for Kansas City while Matt Prater split the uprights from 35 yards.
The game attracted 83,624 fans to the iconic 90,000-seat venue — a positive sign that American-style tackle football is gaining popularity in England. The NFL announced it will play a minimum of three regular season games in London’s Twickenham Stadium over a three-year period beginning in October 2016.
The NFL recently announced that it has extended its Wembley Stadium agreement to include a minimum of two games per year to be played there through 2020. Earlier this year, the NFL reached agreement with Tottenham Hotspur to play at least two games per year at the Premier League club’s new stadium, beginning in 2018.
The Chiefs trail the AFC West Division leading Denver Broncos (7-0) by 4.5 games in the standings.
Kansas City has now won two games in a row after suffering through a five-game losing streak. The Chiefs appear to have developed a new and more successful game plan following the season-ending loss of star running back Jamaal Charles.
“It was a long way to go for a home game,” Kansas City head coach Andy Reid noted in his post-game press conference. “It was phenomenal. All our players had a good time and were treated well. I saw jerseys (among the fans who attended the game) from just about every team in the league, it’s apparent that London has taken to the NFL.”
I thought we played as team, all three phases contributed. The players came out with a certain focus, you could sense there was a tremendous amount of energy. The guys stepped in and played good physical football.”
The Chiefs offense racked up six touchdowns in the win over the Lions. On the season, Smith has now thrown for 1,969 yards with nine touchdowns and three picks but has been sacked 28 times for an overall 92.1 quarterback rating.
“We got a lot of guys with a lot of different strengths,” Smith said in the post-game press conference. “We can present a lot to a defense. It’s hard for them to defend. Our guys up front set the tone in run offense and pass protection.”
Smith ran for a career high 49-yard scramble in the second quarter. It was the longest play from scrimmage in the game. He also used his legs to set up the Chiefs’ first touchdown of the game scored by Thomas.
“He had some very positive yards for us at needed times,” Reid said in regard to Smith. “We know he can run. We don’t really want him to run, but if it works out that way that’s OK.”
“I’ve gotten a little smarter in taking gambles and taking risks,” Smith said.
“When he gets out of the pocket, he can create some problems, especially in man-to-man coverage,” Detroit head coach Jim Caldwell said in regard to Smith’s running ability.
The Lions were obviously disappointed by the result. “Not a very good outing, that’s an understatement,” Caldwell offered in his post-game press conference.
“We weren’t able to play very well in any different phase,” Stafford said.
Both Kansas City and Detroit have byes this week.
Arizona Cardinals 34, Cleveland Browns 20
The visiting Cardinals improved their NFC West leading record to 6-2 on the season after rallying from a 20-7 deficit. Arizona scored 24 unanswered points during the second-half comeback.
Carson Palmer threw four touchdown passes – three in the second half – to finish the game with 374 passing yards.
Eastlake High School alumnus Tony Jefferson finished the game with six sacks, including five unassisted tackles and one tackle for a loss, to help key the Cardinals’ defense.
Jefferson has made 44 total tackles on the season, including 36 unassisted tackles. He also has two interceptions, including a game-saving pick in a win over the visiting Baltimore Ravens on Oct. 26. He also returned an intercepted pass 26 yards for a touchdown in an early season game in Chicago.
Jefferson also has two forced fumbles to his credit this season. He is on pace to set career high for total tackles this season after making 79 last season.
Troy Niklas (two catches, 12 yards) caught two of Carson’s touchdown passes while Michael Floyd (four catches, 106 yads) and Larry Fitzgerald (nine catches, 84 yards) each made one TD grab.
The Browns, last in the AFC North Division, dropped to 2-6. Quarterback Josh McCown threw three touchdown passes while accumulating 211 passing yards. He also led Cleveland in rushing (39 total yards on 20 attempts) with 18 yards on five carries.
Both McCown and Carson were each intercepted once in the non-conference contest.
Former Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel completed three of six passing attempts for 12 yards and also ran once for one yard to register a rather lackluster 56.3 quarterback rating.
The Cardinals have a bye this week but return to action for an important Nov. 15 NFC West clash in Seattle. Arizona hosts the currently undefeated Cincinnati Bengals (8-0) on Nov. 22. The outcome of those two games should tell fans a lot about Arizona’s season.
Passing grade
New Orleans defeated the visiting New York Giants, 52-49, in a Week 8 thriller as Saints quarterback Drew Brees threw for 505 yards and seven touchdowns and losing signal-called Eli Manning threw for 350 yards and six TDs. The high-scoring game featured 834 net passing yards and 1,024 net offensive yards (608 by New Orleans and 416 by the Giants.
Brees, who was intercepted twice, finished the game with a 131.7 quarterback rating. Manning, who was sacked three times, finished the game with a 138.2 QB rating.
The Sunday Night Football telecast featured a pair of top flight quarterbacks dueling in prime time: Denver’s Peyton Manning and Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers. Most observers picked the Packers over the Broncos in the battle of 6-0 unbeatens. But Manning, 39, got the upper hand on Rodgers, 31, via a 29-10 non-conference victory.
Manning, the No. 1 pick in the 1998 NFL Draft and the all-time leader in career touchdown passes, completed 21 of 29 passing attempts for 340 yards with no touchdowns and one interception. Rodgers completed 14 of 22 attempts for just 77 passing yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions and was sacked three times. Manning finished the game with a 96.9 quarterback rating to Rodgers’ 69.7 rating.
The Broncos, who improved to 7-0, scored three rushing touchdowns in the game: two by former SDSU standout Ronnie Hillman (19 carries, 60 yards) and one by C.J. Anderson (14 carries, 101 yards). Host Denver piled up 160 rushing yards to 90 for the Packers. Eddie Lacy (11 carries, 38 yards) scored Green Bay’s lone touchdown.
Manning, playing in his 18th season, is on the verge of setting the all-time NFL career passing yard record. The Denver signal-caller has been much maligned this season after throwing more interceptions than touchdown passes, prompting some to speculate that this might be his last season as an active player.
Rodgers, playing in his 11th season, has a lopsided total of touchdowns to interceptions this season. Many consider him to be either the best or second best active NFL quarterback, trailing perhaps only New England’s Tom Brady.
Thursday Night Football
The Bengals ran their record to an AFC best 8-0 after drubbing the host Browns, 31-10, on Nov. 5. Cincy quarterback Andy Dalton passed for 234 yards and three touchdowns (all three to Tyler Eifert). Dalton finished with a 139.8 quarterback rating.
Manziel got the start for the lackluster Browns. He completed 15 of 33 passing attempts for 168 yards and one touchdown and was sacked three times to finish the game with a 71.3 quarterback rating.
NFL Leaderboard
AFC Top Teams
Cincinnati Bengals (8-0)
New England Patriots (7-0)
Denver Broncos (7-0)
Oakland Raiders (4-3)
New York Jets (4-3)
Pittsburgh Steelers (4-4)
Buffalo Bills (3-4)
Miami Dolphins (3-4)
Kansas City Chiefs (3-5)
Indianapolis Colts (3-5)
Houston Texans (3-5)
Jacksonville Jaguars (2-5)
Baltimore Ravens (2-6)
San Diego Chargers (2-6)
Cleveland Browns (2-7)
Tennessee Titans (1-6)
NFC Top Teams
Carolina Panthers (7-0)
Green Bay Packers (6-1)
Arizona Cardinals (6-2)
Atlanta Falcons (6-2)
Minnesota Vikings (5-2)
St. Louis Rams (4-3)
Seattle Seahawks (4-4)
New Orleans Saints (4-4)
New York Giants (4-4)
Philadelphia Eagles (3-4)
Washington Redskins (3-4)
Tampa Bay Bucs (3-4)
Dallas Cowboys (2-5)
Chicago Bears (2-5)
San Francisco 49ers (2-6)
Detroit Lions (1-7)
